Question: If the sales tax in your city is $8.6\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$50$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${8.6\%} \times {\$50} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $8.6\%$ is equivalent to $8.6 \div 100$ $8.6 \div 100 = 0.086$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.086$ $\times$ $$50$ = $$4.30$ You would pay $$4.30$ in sales tax.